


Forget What We Learned

by Pagesandpages



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: After season one, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Diego is a Good Brother, Family Feels, Klaus Hargreeves Deserves Better, Memory Loss, Spoilers, Team Bonding, learning to love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2019-11-29 02:16:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18216851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pagesandpages/pseuds/Pagesandpages
Summary: The problem with time travel is that it's unpredictable on the best of days and downright dangerous on the worst. There were always side effects, but Five hadn't expected this.





	1. Five

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> This fic starts right after season one, so spoiler warning for the entire season. I hope you enjoy!

The clock was ticking. It wasn’t loud, just a presence in the quiet room.

 

_Tik Tok._

 

They were standing behind their chairs. Waiting.

 

_Tik Tok._

 

It was a rule. No eating until everyone was in the dining room.

 

_Tik Tok._

 

Five’s chair was empty. He was never late, no matter how angry he was at dad.

 

_Tik Tok_.

 

Klaus was beginning to fidget. Ben’s hand grabbed his wrist in an attempt to still him before their dad got even angrier than he already was.

 

_Tik Tok._

 

Luther was looking far too smug. It had always been a battle for the best between the three of them. It wasn’t that Five wanted dad’s approval. He just wanted to be the best of them. Luther didn’t see that, he was too focused on getting his own approval to notice that no one else really cared.

 

_Tik Tok._

 

Vanya was silent. Her hands gripped the back of her seat tighter than usual. Dad was more likely to take out his anger on her than anyone else.

 

_Tik Tok._

 

Allison just looked impatient. She kept rolling her eyes at Luther. He always rolled then right back at her.

 

_Tik Tok._

 

Diego was worried about his brother. Annoyed, but worried. It had been private training for Five yesterday. There was always exhaustion and dark circles under their eyes, but no one had ever missed breakfast like this before. Getting punished wasn’t worth it.

 

_Tik Tok._

 

“Sir?” Pogo said from the doorway, wringing his hands together, “May I speak with you out here for a moment?”

 

“What is it, Pogo?” dad asked impatiently.

 

“Please sir, out here.”

 

_Tik Tok._

 

They were only in the doorway for a moment before dad took off up the stairs.

 

Pogo came back in with a strained smile, “You may have a seat, children. Eat breakfast. I’ll be back to dismiss you.”

 

_Tik Tok._

 

Pogo closed the doors behind him.

 

_Tik Tok._

 

The Hargreeve children sat down around the table. The shuffling of the chairs finally drowned out the sound of the ticking clock. It was a relief.

 

“What was up with that?” Klaus muttered, picking at his food.

 

“Pogo seemed worried. Do you think Five’s ok?” Ben whispered back, glancing at the door.

 

Vanya shushed them, eyes on the door as well.

 

Diego couldn’t help but look at the door as well. It seemed ominous for some reason. Dad always prefered doors to be opened. The dining room door was no exception. Something bad had happened. He felt it in his bones.

 

“Come on, Vanya, dad’s not here. He can’t control us from across the house. Live a little why don’t you.” Klaus teased, “How’s that book you’re reading, Ben. Ana What’s Her Name?”

 

“Anna Karenina?” Ben asked with a sigh.

 

“That’s the one!”

 

“Good I guess?”

 

“Do you ever get tired of your own voice, Klaus?” Allison asked, glaring at her brother.

 

“Really, Alli?” Klaus sighed, “Do you know how difficult it is to find entertainment in this house. I’m a gift to you guys. Nothing more and nothing less. You should be thanking me, not ridiculing me.”

 

“Klaus, would you shut up!” Luther growled.

 

Ben jumped in, attempting to diffuse the situation, “Guys, there’s no need to fight. Let’s just eat breakfast and ask Pogo when he comes back what’s wrong with Five. Alright?”

 

There was only silence after that. A familiar sound at meal time. Diego only heard the sound of the ticking clock as he looked at the door again.

 

_Tik Tok._

 

_Tik Tok._

 

_Tik Tok._

 

It was nearly an hour by the time Pogo came back to dismiss them. Impatience had settled amongst everyone.

 

“Your father has allowed this time to be a free hour, or so,” Pogo explained.

 

“Is Five ok?” Ben asked, standing from his chair.

 

Pogo smiled gently, “He’s fine, just needs some rest.”

 

Diego was unimpressed with that explanation but knew that Pogo wouldn’t say anything more than that. So Diego made his way upstairs and to Five’s door. If Pogo wouldn’t say anything about it, he would find out for himself.

 

“Five?” Diego called, knocking on his door, “Five, is e-e-everything a-alright?”

 

“You know,” Allison said as she passed by, “If Five is avoiding dad, what makes you think he’s going to want to talk to you?”

 

“Because I’m n-not dad?” Diego pointed out.

 

“If he jumps all your stuff onto the roof across the street, don’t come crying to me,” Allison said, closing herself into her room.

 

Diego ignored his sister, trying the doorknob. It was, unsurprisingly, locked.

 

“Please, F-five?” Diego called again, “I just want to m-make sure you a-are alive.”He waited another breath, then headed into his room to find his lockpicking kit.

 

It was something he had taught himself fairly recently.  Klaus had given himself a bad high and locked himself in the bathroom, whimpering and crying out. Deigo had been scared that if mom had found him in there, she would have told dad. And dad would, most likely, find a way to punish him Klaus for it. Klaus was scared and alone, and even though they didn’t always get along, Diego would try and protect his little brother the best he could.

 

So, he found a couple of bobby pins from Allison's room and picked his way in. It had taken him until Klaus was coming down for him to get in, but he had done it. Klaus had clung to him for hours.

 

After that, he had snuck out bought himself a kit and a book of how to actually use it.

 

He never wanted to be so helpless like that again.

 

It only took him five minutes this time to get into Five’s room. Diego swung the door open triumphantly, only to freeze, his chest tightening painfully.

 

Five’s bed was covered in blood. A puddle of deep red stained his pillow. Droplets of blood covered the floor.

 

Diego’s first thought was that Five, his baby brother, who was a kid just like the rest of them, dead.

 

And then he couldn’t breathe. It was a sickening feeling, the very thought of Five being dead. But there was proof right in front of him. The blood, Pogo’s worry, dad running off. It wasn’t just sickening, it was absolutely crushing. He couldn’t breathe.

 

“Diego!” someone yelled from behind him, “Diego, hun, you need to breathe. You need to breathe, ok?”

 

Mom was sitting in kneeling in front of him, hands cupping his face.

 

“Diego, I need you to listen to my voice. You need to take in a big breath if air, the biggest you can, ok?”

 

Diego nodded and managed to take a gulp of air in.

 

“Now let out, dear. Let it out,” He managed to push the air out of his lungs, “Again, hun. Do it again. In and out.”

 

It took a few breaths for him to get out any words, “M-m-m-”

 

Mom stood, gently guiding him out of the room, closing the door behind her. She lead him down the hall and into his room gently running a hand through his hair the whole time.

 

“Are you alright, hun?” Mom asked, sitting him down on the bed.

 

“F-f-f-f,” Diego stuttered, his fear forcing his stutter to come out stronger.

 

“Remember, hun. Vis-” his mom tried to say, before getting interrupted.

 

“I-is f-f-five ok-k?” Diego managed to get out, his body shaking.

 

His mom’s hesitance stopped his breathing again.

 

Grace quickly moved to calm Diego down, “No, hun. Five is alive and getting help, babe. You need to breathe. Just keep breathing.” She hesitated for another moment, “Five got… sick. He’s ok, he just needs lots of rest. He’ll be back running missions with you in no time. You just need to be patient, alright dear?”

 

“B-but t-t-the b-bl-blood-”

 

“I know it looked like a lot of blood, but it’s not as much as you think. Five is going to be ok. He just needs to rest,” Grace said with a smile, gently kissing the top of Diego’s head, “Would you like a hug, dear?”

 

Diego nodded, letting his mom wrap him up close in her arms. The shaking hadn’t stopped. There was something about the situation that made him feel odd. Like this had happened before. It was sickeningly familiar: the dread, the blood, mom hugging him tightly.

 

He just couldn’t remember.


	2. Tip of the Tongue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I have a feeling that I’m forgetting something really important. It’s on the tip of my tongue, but I just can’t remember.”
> 
> “Are you sure you are forgetting something?”
> 
> "I'm pretty sure."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoy!

“Hey, Vanya?” Klaus asked from the doorway to her room, bouncing on his feet, “You love me right?”

 

“Of course, why-” Vanya was interpreted as Klaus quickly walked into her room, quietly closing the door behind him.

 

“Thanks, sis,” Klaus said, flopping himself onto her bed, “Do you know how to paint nails?”

 

“What?”

 

“You’re a girl,” Klaus pointed out, “And since the only other girl in this house is the one I stole this nail polish from so…”

 

Vanya gently put her violin in her case, “I’ve helped with Allison’s a few times, but I’ve never been very good at it.”

 

“Well you’ve done it more than I have, so it’s on you,” Klaus held out his hands wiggling his fingers.

 

“What colour do you want?”

 

“Artists’ choice.”

 

Vanya shrugged and picked up the black colour. Klaus leaned back against the pillows, humming under his breath.

 

Vanya had always had a bit of a soft spot for Klaus. He was wild and fun and outcasted from the group just as much as she was. Talking to dead people couldn’t help when bullets were being fired in every direction. He was one of the few in the house that would actively listen to her play the violin. It drowns out the voices, he said.

 

“Can I ask you something?” Vanya asked, coating another nail.

 

“Go for it.”

 

“What made you want to paint your nails?”

 

Klaus thought it through for a moment, “It’s kind of weird. I was at breakfast this morning and I looked at my fingers and just felt that something was off, you know. Like something was missing. So I went in Allison’s room and stole it off her. I’m a little worried that Luther might kill me for doing that.”

  
  


There was a companionable silence as Vanya finished his nails, “Wait for them to dry before you do anything. I can also do a second coat if you’d like.”

 

“Ugh,” Klaus moaned, “What am I supposed to do while I wait?”

 

“Do you want to talk?”

 

“About what?”

 

“Anything?”

 

Klaus brightened, “Are we talking gossip here? Because I literally have no one to gossip with, as we see, at most, only nine other people in a day, and if word ever got back to Allison something I want to say about her, she would rumour me dead. Cross your heart and hope to die that you will not tell a soul about what I’m about to tell you.”

 

Vanya raised her right hand, “I swear it.”

 

“Ok, so should I start with Five news or Allison news first?”

 

“Um, Five?”

 

“Good choice! So you know yesterday when Five went MIA? Well, I can one hundred per cent confirm he is not dead. Mostly because there is no way Five would not die and haunt me just to make my life as miserable as hell, but that’s not the kicker. You see, Diego broke into Five’s room yesterday andI’m pretty sure he short-circuited from whatever he saw because he stopped breathing for a good minute. Then mom talked him down, but I think she told him what’s happening with Five because he’s been stuttering even more than usual and keeps looking like he wants to say something. If I could have five minutes alone with him, I could get him to break. He’s the worst liar I know, so this would be easy.”

 

Vanya took a second to process what had just been said. Klaus had barely taken a breath the whole time he spoke.

 

“How did you catch him breaking into Five’s room?”

 

“Diego may be good at throwing knives, but he has the worst peripheral vision of anyone I know.”

 

“Why do you think mom told him what happened to Five, but not us?” Vanya asked, leaning forward on her elbows.

 

“Have you seen Diego with mom? He loves her more than he loves his knife collection, which is saying a lot. I also think mom likes him the best, as much as I hate to admit it.”

 

Vanya hummed softly in agreement. Diego had always been close to his mom, “I happy Five is ok. I was beginning to worry. He’s going to be upset that’s missed two days of training.”

 

“I can’t say I’m not unhappy he’s alive, but this will probably make him even more bitter than usual. Cranky Five is not a fun time.” Klaus said with a sigh.

 

Vanya laughed in agreement, “What about Allison? You said you had something about her?”

 

“Now this one is personal for me, because Ben is by far my favourite brother, and Allison  _ rumoured _ him.” Vanya picked up Klaus’ hand and started the second coat as he talked, “So you know how Allison and Luther have that really weird relationship? And they like to think that no one knows about it despite being the most obvious people in the world? Well, the other night Ben was using the washroom and when he came out Luther and Allison were sneaking upstairs. And of course Ben was like, ‘what are you guys doing,’ and Luther was like, ‘nothing,’ like that absolute idiot he is - _ Dude would you fuck right off _ \- sorry about that. Some ghost has been bothering me more than usual. Anyways, Allison, the brains of the relationship made it so Ben forgot that he had seen them. I  _ hate _ it when Allison does that. It makes me think about all the things that she has made me do, or forget. It seems almost cruel her power.”

 

“Do you really think she’s made us forget stuff?” Vanya asked, stopping her painting for a moment.

 

Klaus nodded, “No doubt about it. She always gets things her way and people just adore her like she hung the moon or something. I mean come on, she’s a real bitch most of the time!”

 

“Klaus!”

 

“What? I’m just saying. She has the entire world wrapped around her finger. If she’s not afraid of  _ rumouring _ Ben, the sweetest, purest boy in this house, what is stopping her from using it on us? And anyone else who isn’t doing things her way?”

 

“Wait a second, how did you find out Ben was  _ rumoured _ ?” Vanya asked, ignoring what Klaus was implying about her sister.

 

“A pain in the ass ghost was keeping me up, so I heard the whole thing. The same ghost that is in the corner of the room,  _ and will not fuck off _ !”

 

Vanya hesitated before asking. No one really talked about Klaus’ skills, “Do they bother you often?”

 

Klaus snorted, “Why do you think I’m high, like, eighty-five per cent of the time?”

 

Vanya frowned, “Are you high right now?”

 

Klaus whistled, “Wow, look at the time. Gotta go. Thanks for doing this for me! You’re my favourite sister! Love you!”

 

With that, Klaus waltzed out of the room, blowing a kiss as he left.

 

____________________________________________________

  
  


Ben had reread the same sentence at least twelve times and still couldn’t understand it. He was trying to remember… something. He knew he was forgetting something important, but couldn’t for the life of him remember what he was forgetting. It had been bothering him all day. Enough that he couldn’t even concentrate on reading.

 

“What did that book do to you?” Luther asked, flopping down on the couch across from Ben.

 

Ben scowled, “What?”

 

“You’re glaring at your book. Did your favourite character die? Or is it just really bad?”

 

“Neither,” Ben slumped, copying Luther’s position.

 

“What is it then?”

 

Ben sighed, “I can’t remember what I’m forgetting.”

 

Luther just blinked at him, confusion lining his face.

 

“I have a feeling that I’m forgetting something really important. It’s on the tip of my tongue, but I just can’t remember.”

 

“Are you sure you are forgetting something?”

 

“I’m pretty sure.”

 

“Maybe you just think that you are forgetting something important, but it’s just that you forgot to change your underwear this morning, or something silly like that,” Luther advised.

 

“First off, I know I changed my underwear. Should I be asking you the same?” At Luther’s blush, Ben continued, “Secondly, I know this sounds stupid, but it feels like I’m forgetting something more on the lines of I forgot to turn the stove off and I’m about to burn the house down. And it’s really, really bothering me.”

 

Luther hummed, suddenly looking really embarrassed, “I don’t know, Ben. That really sucks, Ben.”

 

“Luther,” Ben said, setting his book down, “What aren’t you telling me?”

 

“N-nothing at all, Ben. I’m just trying to help, Ben.”

 

“Luther. You have said my name four times in the last minute. You always do that when you are lying! Tell me what you know. Now.”

 

Luther suddenly jumped up and sprinted towards the staircase. Ben scrambled after him, and for a brief moment, he forgot that he was forgetting anything at all.

 

_______________________________________

 

The moment Ben appeared in Allison’s doorway she knew that she would have to have a talk with Luther about keeping secrets.

 

“Hi, Ben! What’s going on?” Allison asked, trying to play it cool.

 

Ben’s eye twitched, “I’m thinking you owe me an apology. Or several. Luther wasn’t too keen on telling me how many times you  _ rumoured _ me.”

 

Allison smiled sweetly, “Come on. It’s not that bad. I just made you forget a few things that were unsavoury about me. It’s not that bad!”

 

“Oh, it’s not that bad you say? Well, I’ve been trying to remember what I’ve been forgetting all day. Give me back my memories!” Ben demanded, arms crossed.

 

“Are you sure? You don’t-”

 

“My memories. Now.”

 

Allison rolled her eyes, “Fine, fine.”

 

“ _ Thank you _ !” Ben said, exasperated.

 

With a sigh, Allison spoke, “ _ I heard a rumour that you remembered whatever it is that you’ve forgotten _ .”

 

The effect was instantaneous. Ben remembered all the times he had caught Luther and her sneaking out, the time that he accidentally walked in on her changing (something he was actually ok forgetting), the time he saw her  _ rumouring _ herself in the mirror. Little things as well, like where he hid his favourite chocolate, and their old nurse they had when they were young/

 

And then he felt like he had run head first into a brick wall.

 

He let out a gasp as he hit the wall in his mind again. And again. The effect was so jarring he lost his balance and doubled over, gasping for breath as the pain subsided from the attack in his own mind.

 

“Ben! Oh god, Ben!” Allison yelled, shaking him.

 

“What- What happened?” Ben asked, trying to still his shaking hands.

 

“I don’t know! Are you ok? What happened?” Allison begged, shaking Ben again.

 

“I don’t know! I felt like my brain was just thrown into a wall!”

 

For a moment Allison gaped like a fish, “What do you mean a wall?”

 

“I remembered everything you made me forget, but then it was like I was about to remember more but I just-” Ben waved his hands around wildly unable to grasp his thoughts, “-bounced off!”

 

“This doesn’t make sense.”

 

Ben ran a hand through his hair trying to calm his panic, “Can you just not do that again, please? Because that was really scary and I’m really freaked out. Please don’t tell dad!”

 

“I won’t,” Allison promised. She grabbed his shoulder tightly, “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

 

Ben gave her a watery smile and backed out of the room, trying to ignore the look of terror on his sister’s face. 

 

By the time Ben had found his way back to his room for the night, the feeling of forgetfulness was back.

 

He didn’t ask for help this time, just tried to forget he had even found the wall in his head. Whatever he was forgetting was behind it. Ben knew it. But he wasn’t willing to risk whatever  _ that _ was again. There was a feeling of something dangerous behind that wall. Something more dangerous than the monster that crawled beneath his skin.

 

And, if Ben was being honest with himself, he wasn’t ready to deal with anything more terrifying than the monster that lived within him.


	3. Breathing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In
> 
> Out
> 
> In 
> 
> Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter three! Unfortunately, I have two exams and an essay due next week, so the posting of the next chapter might be a little late!
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Five woke in a panic. Something was choking him. The bright light above him was making it impossible to see what was happening. He couldn’t breathe.

 

Weakly, Five pawned at his throat, trying to find whatever was restricting his breathing. Instead of hitting hands, or a rope, he found a plastic tube protruding from his mouth.

 

Still struggling to get air, Five managed to wrap his hand around the tube, pulling it out of his mouth. The plastic scaped against his throat. It burned. He didn’t pause until it was completely out, ignoring the taste of blood that had built in his mouth.

 

Five took deep breathes, trying to get his lungs to stop screaming. He closed his eyes, trying to focus. 

 

_ In _

 

_ Out _

 

_ In  _

 

_ Out _

 

As soon as his breaths were even again, he opened his eyes and looked around. He was in one of his old pairs of pajamas, ones he hadn’t seen since he returned home. An assortment of needles and tubes were sticking out his arms. He was in an eerily familiar room: the med bay in the basement in the Hargreaves mansion.

 

That was good. Really good. That meant he had survived the trip back in time. They were ok.

 

Slowly, Five reached over and pulled the various needles out of his arms, ignoring the obnoxious beeping that started as he untangled himself.

 

Now that he wasn’t panicking, it was clear what had been choking him. He had been incubated. He was connected to what looked like a dialysis machine, and several other machines that looked like his father’s inventions.

 

So Five had made it back alive but injured. 

 

A sudden voice came from the doorway. “Five! What are you doing up? You need to be resting!”

 

Mom rushed into the room worry lining her face. She gently tried to lay Five back down, but Five grabbed her wrist, looking at her closely.

 

“What year is it?” Five asked, his voice scratchy.

 

“Darling, I need you to-”

 

“What’s the date! The entire date!!” Five snapped.

 

His mother looked a little shocked. She gently dropped their hands to the bed, “It’s October 25, 2002, love.”

 

Five blinked. He had meant to send them back a week, maybe two. Not seventeen years. He wasn’t even sure how he had even managed to do it without killing himself.

 

Grace put a hand on the side of Five’s head, “I know you think you are fine now, but you were very hurt and-”

 

“What happened? What was damaged?” Five demanded.

 

“Love-”

 

“Tell me!”   
  


Grace looked even more concerned, her voice softer than before, “You were in organ failure. Your kidney, lungs, liver, and heart were all failing to function properly. I found you suffocating on your own blood.”

 

“What would have caused something like that?”

 

“I am unsure. My best guess was extreme exertion.” Well, that made sense. Taking six people back seventeen years in time must have taken him all he had, “Did something happen, love?”

 

“No, mom. Where is everyone?” Five asked. If the jump had caused organ failure in himself, the odds were the others were affected as well.

 

“They are eating lunch right now. But you need to rest, now. You can see your brothers and sisters later. So why don’t you-”

 

Ignoring his mother, Five untangled himself from the sheets and the last of the wires. He made his way to the staircase that lead back upstairs.

 

There was a moment as he made his way towards the dining room where he went through all the things that could have gone wrong for his siblings. Deformations, organ failure, loss of limbs, death. Five knew they were alive, but the fear still gripped his heart none the less.

 

His bare feet slapped against the floor as he found himself in the doorway of the dining room. Everyone had turned to look at Five as he did a headcount. Somewhere in the background he heard a chair move. Luther, Vanya, Klaus, Allison, Diego, and  _ Ben _ .

 

Ben. Five hadn’t seen him since he was actually thirteen. All of them were here. All of them were alive.

 

“Five!” Reginald growled, fury in his eyes, “You are injured. I expected you to stay in bed! What on Earth are you doing moving around!”

 

Five counted his family again, tears filling his eyes. They were all alive. They were all here in the flesh, not just memories that haunted every waking moment.

 

He had his family again.

 

Suddenly a large hand was wrapped around his bicep, shaking him roughly, “I asked you what you were doing up here!”

 

Five snarled, trying to pull himself away from his father, “Let go of me!”

 

Reginald began to drag him out of the room, ignoring Five’s weak hands trying to peel off his tight grip. Desperately, Five looked back at his siblings.

 

No one was making eye contact with him. There was none of the resentment he had seen in the future. No anger. No hatred. Just tired compliance.

 

Five stopped struggling, letting his father drag him up the stairs. He felt sick. Why wouldn’t they look at him?  _ Why didn’t they help him _ ?

 

His nose was bleeding.

 

The sound of a slamming door brought him back to the present. His father towering above him, his eyes wild. They were in Five’s room. His old one. Books were piled in every nook of space. There had been nothing personal in his room in the future

 

“You nearly died, Five! What were you thinking about, getting up and moving like a fool!” Reginald demanded.

 

“I was-” Five tried to get out.

 

Reginald quickly interrupted the boy, “What did you do to yourself? Did you try and teleport across the city? The country? What did you do Number Five!”

 

Five opened his mouth only to be cut off again.

 

“You have jeopardized everything I have worked so hard to create! How dare you ignore my demands to keep your teleporting within a few miles at most so you do not kill yourself?”

 

“I didn’t try and-”

 

Reginald snarled in disgust, and before Five could process what was happening, a hand struck his cheek, the crack loud in the quiet room.

 

“I will not ask again, Number Five. What did you do!”

 

His cheek burning, Five looked up at his father for the first time in fifty years and remembered why he had always hated the man.

 

With an angry sigh, Reginald continued, “Since you are well enough to be stubborn and interrupt our meal, you are well enough to be punished. You will not leave this room until I say. If I see you anywhere but in this room, I will find a way to make you miserable. Do you understand me, Number Five!”

 

“Yes,” Five hissed, yanking himself away from his father.

 

Five sat down on his bed as Reginald slammed the door. The heavy noise of the outside lock clicking filled the room.

 

Even if he wanted too, Five wasn’t sure if he could concentrate enough to jump anywhere. He felt numb and absolutely terrified. Facing their father had been bad enough, but his brothers and sisters...

 

Had he been the only one to make it back in time? Had he left his siblings to die yet again?

 

No. There had to be another explanation for the lack of anger in his sibling's eyes. He couldn’t save the world on his own. He needed them. 

 

He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if they had died again.

 

“Ok, Five,” he muttered to himself, dragging himself over to his desk, pulling out as much paper as he could find, “Let’s start with a list. Lists are a good place to start. What’s the most important thing right now? The Temp Commission will still be looking for me after what I did. I need to stay off their radar. So, I need to maintain the timeline as much as I can. I can do that. That’s a good place to start.”

 

Five quickly wrote that down in his scribbly handwriting, ignoring the blood that was still leaking from his nose and staining his blank paper red.

 

“Next, I need to figure out what happened to everyone,” Five continued, still muttering to himself, “Did I lose them in the timeline? Or can I only move myself? No, that doesn’t make sense. I must be able to move other materials if I don’t lose my clothes when jumping. Unless it’s just organics that I can’t take with me. But how would I survive the jumps then? So they had to have been with me when I jumped.” 

 

With a sigh, Five wrote  _ what happened? _ on his to-do list.

 

“I also need to find a way to stop the apocalypse, make sure all my siblings survive, change time without destroying the world,  _ make sure Vanya doesn’t destroy the world _ ,” Five stopped mid-thought, “No. I can’t look for Deloris, not now. If I don’t save the world, there won’t be a Deloris to save.”

 

He was alone. His siblings didn’t seem to know about the impending doom their world faced, Deloris most likely hadn’t made her way to the city yet, and he was alone.

 

He needed his family back.

  
  


_________________________________________________________

 

Reginald sat in front of the security footage, looking for any sign of what had happened the night before Grace had found a half dead Number Five in his bed. 

 

He needed to catch Five in the lie. He had to have done something to exhaust his body to that extent. His training couldn’t have done that much damage. It was specifically created to push his children, never to harm them.

 

The hours of footage rolled by and nothing happened. All the children seemed to be asleep in their beds. Nothing strange at all happened until the footage hit just after six am.

 

At the exact same moment, all the children shot up in their beds, their backs arched painfully. Then, as if they had coordinated it, they all collapsed back into their beds less than ten seconds later.

 

None of their eyes seemed to have opened.

 

Nothing had changed besides Five. It was just after that moment that blood began to pour from his nose and eyes.

 

Had this been some kind of joke? Was all their training a joke to these children? Did they not realize what they were meant to do? Were they really foolish enough to think this would be funny?

 

One of the children had to know what Five had done to cause this, and Five would regret risking his and everyone else's life for some kind of elaborate joke.

 


	4. Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Five have a conversation/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your lovely comments! They always make my day! I promise I will try and get back to Friday updates these next coming weeks!
> 
> Have a happy Easter holiday!

Ben couldn’t sleep. He had been tossing and turning for hours, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in, but his worry kept him from falling into sleeplessness.

 

Three days without a word from anyone of where Five had gone. Not even Pogo had cracked and hinted at where Five was. That, on top of the incident with Allison, had been stressful enough. But then Five had walked in at lunch, pale and covered in sweat at lunch, and looking as if he had seen a ghost.

 

Dad had dragged him upstairs, and now there was nothing but radio silence from him. No indignant shouting, no banging on the walls, not even a single blue portal popping up anywhere in the house. Absolutely nothing.

 

With a sigh, Ben turned over again, trying to ignore the worry that was plaguing him. Even his monster seemed worried, the tentacles twisting and turning inside him.

 

The clock on the bedside table read just after three.

 

With another sigh, Ben rolled out of bed and slowly made his way down to Vanya’s room, trying to avoid waking up all his other siblings. He gently knocked on her door before letting himself in, quickly closing the door behind him

 

“Hello?” Vanya mumbled sleepily from her bed, slowly sitting up.

 

“Sorry, Vanya,” Ben whispered, sitting down on the end of her bed.

 

Vanya rubbed her eyes, yawning, “What are you doing up?”

 

“I don’t know. Just couldn’t sleep.”

 

“Is  _ it _ bothering you again,” Vanya asked, gesturing at his stomach.

 

“No. Maybe a bit. I’m more worried about Five than anything.”

 

“Oh. Me too. Dad just locked him away, and I hate that there’s nothing I can do to make sure he’s ok.”

 

Ben nodded, flopping down over Vanya’s feet, feeling as miserable as Vanya looked.

 

“I don’t blame you for having a hard time sleeping,” Vanya murmured, “I wouldn’t have been able too either if I didn’t have my meds. Do you want me to stay up with you for a bit?”

 

“I don’t want to be a bother,” Ben said, looking over at his sister.

 

“You aren’t,” Vanya promised.

 

Ben moved from the end of the bed to beside her, giving her a long hug. Vanya was the closest with Five. Two peas in a pod, as their mother would say. She was probably taking the whole situation just as hard, if not harder, than he was.

 

As they laid there, an idea came to Ben. It was a dumb idea that would probably get him killed. A Klaus Idea as Luther once called it. But it would make him feel better, and would probably make Vanya a little happier knowing that Five was ok.

 

“Vanya,” he said poking her cheek, “Vanya, come on.”

 

Vanya looked confused as Ben dragged her from her bed and lead her down the hall. He stopped by Five’s room, triple checking to make sure it was locked. It, unsurprisingly, remained firmly shut.

 

Vanya obediently trailed behind him with only a look of confusion on her face. Ben lead them confidently but still looked around every corner before they turned. They most likely wouldn’t get in too much trouble for getting a snack, but dad would be more likely to look through the video footage if mom found them. They had to play it safe.

 

Ben stopped in the entryway to the kitchen, turning to look at his sister.

 

“You help Five make that super gross sandwich right?” Ben asked.

 

Vanya tilted her head slightly, “Yes?”

 

“Ok! You make that, and I’ll go find some snacks!”

 

Ben scampered off into the pantry, not bothering to double check if Vanya was doing what he had asked. There wasn’t much in terms of food that would be easy to carry. There was an apple, some trail mix, and some other mix matched snacks that would at least keep Five fed for the day if dad kept him locked away. And given how angry he was after the incident yesterday, Ben had no doubt Five would be locked away at least long enough for dad to come up with a worse punishment.

 

Ben came out with the snacks stuffed in his pocket, and a plastic bag in his hand. Vanya was cutting the sickeningly sweet sandwich into quarters. As soon as she was done, Ben put them into the bag.

 

“Are you going to tell me what you are doing?” Vanya whispered as Ben dragged her back upstairs.

 

“Nope,” Ben replied simply.

 

As soon as they made it back to Vanya’s room, Ben went to the window and slid it open.

 

“Ben…” Vanya warned, staring at him with wide eyes.

 

Ben looked down into the alley below, “Klaus does this all the time. It’s how he gets his cigarettes. I’ll be fine.”

 

“This is a really, really bad idea, Ben.”

 

Ben couldn’t help but agree. There was only a thin edge connecting the windows. Big enough to shimmy across, but small enough to fall off rather easily. It was a two-story drop. Probably wouldn’t kill him if he fell, but it would hurt.

 

He was for sure spending too much time with Klaus if he was even thinking about pulling a stunt like this.

 

With a deep breath, Ben double checked to make sure all his foods were secure, then stepped through the window.

 

The breeze gently blew through his hair. He didn’t look down. Ben gentle shuffled across the ledge. Vanya stuck her head out the window, her hands covering her eyes.

 

Come on, Ben thought, I’m almost there. I’m almost there.

 

He kept his eyes on the roof until he felt the cold panes of glass under his fingers. The lights were still on inside. Five was sitting at his desk, writing furiously. Scaps of paper were scattered around the room, some crumpled, some torn. Five’s normally immaculate room was a complete disaster.

 

Hesitating for a moment, Ben knocked lightly on the window.

 

In seemingly milliseconds, Ben was dragged through the window and onto the bed, a sharp pencil being held to the throat like a weapon. Five was above him, straddling him, his knees digging into the side of Ben’s chest. He didn’t look angry, or mad, or scared. He just looked neutral, like killing him would be the easiest thing in the world. The blood streaming down Five’s face and a deep bruise on his cheek made it all the more terrifying.

 

“Five?” Ben wheezed, the wind still knocked out of him.

 

It took a moment for the recognition in Five’s eyes to light, “Ben?”

 

The pencil dropped, and Ben was gathered into an awkward but crushing hug. Five held onto Ben like a lifeline.

 

“I’m sorry,” Five whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

 

“It’s alright!” Ben soothed, trying to process what was happening, “Everything is fine. I’m not upset, I promise.”

 

For a moment, the two just laid there, Five not moving from his koala like position around Ben. Five was not a touchy person. Most of the time Ben had to force hugs from his brother, and even when he managed to, Five was like hugging a metal pole. 

 

“Five?” Ben asked softly, “Five you’re bleeding.”

 

Five finally lifted his head from where it was buried in Ben’s neck. Blood was smeared across his face. Ben quickly wiggled himself out from under his brother and grabbed a stack of kleenexes, shoving them under Five’s nose.

 

“Head down,” Ben demanded, sitting next to Five on the bed, rubbing his back as he followed Ben’s instructions.

 

“I know how to do this you know,” Five mumbled from under the kleenex.

 

Ben snorted, “I know you do. You may be smart, but you are about as stupid as it comes when it comes to taking care of yourself.”

 

“I am not!”

 

“You are too!”

 

“I refuse to fight with you over my intelligence.” Five huffed. He pulled the kleenex away from his face, his nose twitching slightly. “Why are you here, Ben?”

 

“You weren’t there for lunch or dinner. I didn’t want you to go hungry.” With that said, Ben pulled the various snacks from his pockets, watching as Five’s face lit up slightly, “Vanya made that,” Ben mentioned as Five picked up the slightly squished sandwich.

 

Five smiled slightly as he took his first bite, “She always did make them best.”

 

Letting Five enjoy his meal, Ben leaned over and picked up one of the crumpled pieces of paper that were scattered around the room. It was covered top to bottom in complicated math equations that Ben couldn’t hope to understand in a lifetime.

 

It would be easier to start the conversation with math that what Ben really wanted to ask.

 

“So,” Ben started, hands unconsciously rubbing over his stomach, “Why are you writing complicated math equations at three in the morning?”

 

“I’m trying to solve a problem.”

 

“What’s the problem?”

 

Five smiled sadly, “I’ll let you know when I figure it out.”

 

Ben bit his lip, “Can I ask you something? And can you promise that you won’t get mad?”

 

“Fine,” Five sighed.

 

Ben had meant to say what he was going to say with some grace, but instead, he just blurted out, “Did dad hit you?”

 

Five shrugged, “Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

 

“Five-“

 

“No,” Five interrupted, “My turn to ask a question.”

 

“But-“

 

Five quickly interrupt him again, “Like I said. My turn. Do the names Claire, Patrick, or Patch mean anything to you?”

 

Ben looked at Five with confusion, “No?”

 

“Ok.”

 

Ben sighed. Five and his secrecy, “Can you at least talk to me about what happened? Why you were gone for three days? Why you look like crap? Dad wouldn’t tell us anything.”

 

“Would you believe me if I said I don’t remember?”

 

“Not at all.”

 

Five suddenly looked up at Ben, his eyes hard, “Ben, I want to tell you something, but you have to swear on Klaus’ life that you won’t tell a single soul. Not until I figure it out completely. And no questions. Not now.”

 

“I- I swear?”

 

“Ok,” Five said, taking a deep breath, “Ok. We did something. All of us. Something that cost us nearly everything. And I tried to fix it. I really did. But something went wrong, and I don’t even know if there is anything left to fix. If no one rememb- I can’t fix this alone.”

 

Ben pulled Five into another hug, “You are not alone. I promise. I don’t understand what you were saying, but Five… you know we all have your back right? That we can help you?”

 

“It’s not that simple!” Five tried to push away, but Ben held on tight.

 

“Of course it is. I know whatever happened you tried your best to help fix it. It’s going to be ok.” Five nodded into Ben’s chest, “Can you at least tell me what you meant by all of us.”

 

“I can’t. Not now. Not until I figure out what happened.”

 

“Ok. That’s alright,” Ben squeezed on last time before letting his brother go.

 

Five quickly wiped at his eyes. Ben pretended he didn’t see.

 

“I need to ask you some more questions before you go,” Five declared, his voice definitely not breaking, “Put my mind at ease at the very least.”

 

“Go for it.”

 

“Has anything weird been happening? Sickness, odd behaviour, anything you can’t explain? Anything like that?”

 

Ben thought for a moment, “Um, Diego has been sweating a lot, despite complaining about being cold. Mom says he doesn’t have a fever, so it’s been kind of weird. Luther has been kind nauseous, but that’s about it. Oh, and there was-“ Ben cut himself off, looking down at the blankets.

 

Five’s eyebrows scrunched together, “What happened Ben?”

 

“I… um… I really don’t want to talk about it.l

 

Five scowled, “Ben. You need to tell me what happened. It’s important that you don’t spare any details.”

 

Ben hesitated, “I’m sorry it just really freaked both me and Allison out. You when you feel like you are forgetting something? Like really important? I went to Allison and asked her to  _ rumour me _ into remembering. And it worked for the most part. But then, it was like I hit a wall in my memories. It physically hurt trying to get past it. It was terrifying.”

 

Five nodded, “Ok. That’s a start. I can work with that.” With yet another sigh, Five continued, “Thanks Ben, for everything. I won’t keep you here any longer. Get some sleep and tell Vanya I’m ok.”

 

Ben nodded. He pulled Five into one last hug, ignoring the eye roll he got from him. Feeling more concerned than before, Ben snuck back out the window and shimmed back to Vanya’s room. The girl was sitting on the bed waiting for him.

 

“Is he alright?” Vanya asked, leaping up and helping Ben through the window.

 

“He’s doing ok. He liked your sandwich.”

 

Vanya slumped in relief, “I’m glad he’s ok. And that you survived your adventure over there.”

 

Ben smiled at her, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and headed back to bed. He wanted to tell her what Five had said. Wanted to tell someone, anyone, who would listen. Part of him thought that Five had maybe lost it. Jumped one too many times and left part of his brain somewhere.

 

Nothing was making a whole lot of sense.

 

Then again it was four o’clock in the morning, and he was exhausted. Maybe everything would make some sort of sense in the morning.


	5. Mistakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. Luther is a rather complex character, and turns out was rather difficult to write! I hope you all enjoy nonetheless!
> 
> Also, thank you all for your kind comments! They always make my day!

Luther was exhausted and by the looks of everyone else, they weren’t faring much better. Mom had come knocking on everyone’s doors at five in the morning, two hours before she usually got everyone up. They were all lined up at the bottom of the staircase, space between Klaus and Ben where Five would usually stand.

 

Vanya and Ben were practically sleeping on their feet. Luther couldn’t help but sigh in disgust. Yes, he was exhausted, but this was ridiculous. Waking up a couple of hours early wasn’t that bad, especially if that meant going on a mission. It was frustrating that Luther was always prepared, ready to fight, and his siblings didn’t seem to care half the time. No wonder he was Number One.

 

As soon as their father walked into the room, Luther straightened his back and held his head high. Dad did not look happy. He stood in front of his children, looking at each one in the eye for several moments, a frown deeply creasing his face.

 

“I am very disappointed in all of you,” Hargreeves stated angrily, “I am aware that some of you think that the time I have spent preparing you for the missions I send you on are a waste of time and resources, but what has happened is entirely inappropriate. I am giving you a chance now for one of you to come forward and admit what happened at six in the morning of the twenty-second. Come forward and admit what happened and you will not be punished.”

 

Luther wasn’t sure what to say. Usually, he would tell dad anything he wanted to know about his siblings, missions, or anything else, but he was just confused. As far as he remembered, he had been sleeping then. He knew for a fact dad had cameras in their rooms, so why was he being questioned with the others if he had been asleep when this problem had happened?

 

Luther quickly glanced at down the line-up. Diego looked confused, Allison looked angry, like she couldn’t believe that dad was accusing her of doing anything, Klaus looked bored, and Ben and Vanya both still looked exhausted but had the same look on their face as Diego did.

 

“Fine.” Reginald snapped, “I will talk with each one of you individually until one of you tell the truth. The rest of you will spend the day training. Pogo will be in charge, and there will be no breaks until I say so. Grace, go awaken Number Five. He will join the training today. Number One, my office.”

 

Luther ignored his sibling's groans over the long day they were about to have. He doubted that he would be training with them today. All he would do was explain to his father that he had nothing to do with the incident that happened and he would be free to go on his way. Dad trusted him to be a leader, to be Number One, so dad would trust him when he said he had nothing to do with what happened.

 

Luther patiently waited in the office, standing straight, waiting for his father. After a few minutes in the empty office, Luther began to rock back and forth on his feet, nervous energy beginning to overwhelm him. He had been confident that his dad would believe him, but the quietness of the office made him begin to doubt his disposition.

 

After almost ten minutes in the silence, his father finally walked in. He sat down at the desk without a word, hands folded neatly, and a scowl on his face.

 

“I am disappointed in you Number One,” Reginald said, his voice sickening calm, “Of all of my children, I expected the most out of you, and yet here we are.”

 

“Dad,” Luther started, his voice strained.

 

Reginald continued over his son, “So I will ask you again, and I hope you do not disappoint me again, Number One. What happened on the morning of the twenty-second.”

 

“I- I really don’t know. I swear it. I didn’t even know something had happened until you told us earlier. I promise, dad.”

 

Reginald shook his head, “You are dismissed, Number One. I expect you to be downstairs training in the next ten minutes.”

 

“Wait!” Luther practically shouted, trying to find a way to make his father proud again, “I’ll ask the others. See if I can get something out of them! Someone has to know something, right? And I’ll come straight to you if they say anything suspicious, I promise!”

 

“As I said, Number One. You are dismissed. Send Number Two to my office.”

 

Reginald’s words were final. Luther left the room, a slump in his shoulders. He wasn’t sure if he was angry or upset. Maybe both. He was Number One. His father should have believed him. He couldn’t remember a time that he had lied to him, so why didn’t he believe him?

 

Maybe one of the others had made their father doubt him. Diego was always jealous of his relationship with their father, Klaus would do it just to be an asshole, and the others he doubted would have no reason too, at least that he could think of. That left two suspects: Klaus and Diego.

 

Luther would figure this out and make his dad proud.

 

Allison and Diego were sparring when Luther found his way downstairs. Diego was obviously going easy on her. Which either meant he was feeling nice today, or Allison had  _ rumoured  _ him. Pogo was behind them, correcting their form as they fought. Luther stood back as they finished sparring, taking in the room.

 

To the right side of the room, Grace was showing Klaus and Ben defensive moves. Klaus wasn’t taking it seriously, making silly faces every time Grace turned to help Ben. And Ben still looked like he was sleeping on his feet.

 

On the other side of the room, Five and Vanya were sitting on a bench. Five was pale, shaking slightly, and still in his pyjamas. He was leaning heavily on Vanya’s shoulder while Vanya gently stroked his hair.

 

For a moment, Luther forgot about his anger towards whoever had messed up badly enough to make dad mad at him. Five was someone who had once proclaimed he would rather die than get a hug, yet here he was practically cuddling with Vanya. Five might actually be dying.

 

Luther was about to walk over and ask if he was ok, but the fight between Allison and Diego finished and yelling had started.

 

“That was cheating!” Deigo hissed.

 

“No,” Allison replied flipping her hair over her shoulder, “As dad would say, I was adapting.”

 

“Bullshit!”

 

“Oh, don’t be such a poor loser, Diego.”

 

Luther stepped in before Diego could reply, “Diego, dad wants you upstairs.” Diego looked like he was about to tell him off so Luther continued, “Now.”   
  


Diego sent one last dirty look at Allison then headed upstairs.

 

“Luther,” Pogo said, “You haven’t had a chance to spar yet. Who would you like to go against?”

 

And just like that, the anger from earlier returned, “Klaus.”

 

Klaus looked up with a bit of shock, “Moi?”

 

“Come on, Klaus,” Pogo said, shuffling the boy into the ring, “Luther, please remember your brother does not have the same strength as you.”

 

The two brothers stood across the ring from each other. Klaus looked a little scared and was bouncing on his feet. Luther, on the other hand, knew he would win the fight. He was going to win, and get information from Four. It would be a win-win.

 

With a sigh and a worried glance towards Luther, Pogo signalled for the fight to begin.

 

Luther didn’t jump right in, instead, he moved around the edge of the circle slowly. Stalking Klaus. Klaus was inching around the edge, trying to keep as far away from Luther as possible. He kept looking towards Ben. Luther could see the panic in his brother’s eyes

 

“So,” Luther drawled, “What did you do the other morning that pissed dad off so much?”

 

Klaus tilted his head slightly, and let out a nervous laugh, “Should I be offended that I’m the first person that you accuse?”

 

“If the shoe fits.”

 

“Unfortunately, those shoes aren’t mine.”

 

Luther snorted, “You do have a talent for making people hate you. It wouldn’t surprise me if you found a way to make dad hate you too.”

 

“I am quite gifted at that, aren’t I?”

 

“Did he find your stash of drugs? Or maybe the skirts you’ve been stealing from Allison? Or maybe he realized that you are absolutely useless, but he can’t find a way to get rid of you? Any of these sounding familiar,  _ Klaus _ .”

 

Klaus didn’t even twitch at Luther’s words, “Whoever did piss off dear old daddy must have done something pretty stupid if he’s even questioning you.” Klaus paused, a small smirk making it’s way to his face, “Maybe dad’s favourite Number One did something, like, I don’t know, sneak away with his sister and you know-” Klaus made kissing noises.

 

Luther heard a soft gasp from Allison. In a second he was on the other side of the ring. He was too angry to focus on form, so his punch was sloppy, and Klaus easily dodged.

 

“Ok!” Klaus said, backing away with his arms in front of him, “I took it too far, I’ll admit that but-”

 

Luther leapt towards his brother, who awkwardly rolled to the side, barely avoiding Luther’s fist this time, “What did you do, Klaus!”

 

“I didn’t do any-”

 

Klaus was cut off mid-sentence as he tried to avoid the multiple punches coming towards him. He managed to deflect one or two, but Luther was stronger and faster. It wasn’t long before a hit landed in Klaus’ right ribs. The blow sent him tumbling to the ground after a sickening crack sounded.

 

“What did you do!” Luther demanded, standing above his brother.

Before a word could be said between either of them, there was a familiar pop and Five was standing between them. With the surprise, Five managed to push Luther back a few steps.

 

“What the fuck is wrong with you!” Five snapped, “What part of he didn’t do anything did you not understand!”

 

“I-”

 

“I’ve had enough of your shit, Luther. You need to grow the fu-”

 

Five suddenly lost what little colour he had in his face, and promptly threw up on Luther’s feet. And for a brief moment, no one moved. Luther just gaped at his brother, trying to catch up on what just happened.

 

Vanya quickly made her way to Five’s side, gently helping him sit down away from where he had thrown up, sending Luther the dirtiest look he had ever seen coming from his sister. Allison was on Five’s other side, saying soft words of encouragement. She wasn’t looking at him.

 

Ben was helping Klaus sit up. There were tear tracks down Klaus’ face, and he was holding onto the side Luther’s punch had landed on.

 

“Well, this is fun. Haven’t broken my ribs before, didn’t think it would be today.,” Klaus said quietly to Ben.

 

It was after that was said that Luther came to his senses and became horrified. He had hurt Klaus for what? An assumption that he had done something to make dad mad at him? There wasn’t even any evidence that Klaus had done anything. He had been so upset with dad that he had taken it out on one of his most vulnerable siblings.

 

Oh god, what had he done?

 

Luther stepped forward, a hand out, “Klaus-”

 

“I think you’ve done enough.” Ben snarled, stopping Luther in his tracks.

 

Pogo came forward, his calm voice filling the room, “Luther, why don’t you go upstairs and clean up. Grace, would you please go get the infirmary ready for Klaus and Five? Ben, Vanya, Allison please help your siblings get there. I will go talk to your father and try and get you all a break, ok?”

 

Luther practically fled the room. He had messed up today. Badly. Dad wasn’t the only one mad at him now. He would be lucky if any of his siblings ever talked to him again after what he had done to Klaus. And if Five hadn’t stopped him, obviously hurting himself in the process, how far would he have gone?

 

If this was how he behaved, no wonder dad had been disappointed in him. A leader didn’t hurt their team. A leader didn’t hurt their siblings. A leader knew when to stop.

 

As Luther laid in the bath he tried to scrub off what Five had thrown up on him, and all the mistakes he had made today.


	6. Regrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bank robbery, a gunshot, and a moment of regret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to update! I just really wanted this chapter to be as perfect as I could get it before sending it out into the world!
> 
> Also, because Five says the F-bomb approximately one million times in this chapter, I've decided to change the rating to mature. Just thought I should let y'all know!

Reginald’s punishments ended up lasting nearly two weeks. During that time both Five and Klaus were exempt from the nearly day-long training. Luther had broken three of Klaus’ ribs in his attack, and Five still couldn’t do much in terms of exercise or using his powers without losing his lunch. Instead of joining their siblings, they were required to sit in the library and practice their languages, specifically their German and Arabic.

 

It was… surprisingly nice.

 

Five didn’t like the quiet. He had learned that not long after being found by The Commission. It reminded him too much of the apocalypse. But Klaus was the exact opposite of quiet. Every second of their time was filled with Klaus’ thoughts, or gossip, or a soft hum of whatever song that was stuck in his head that day.

 

Five had to wonder why the first time around they never connected.

 

“Hey,” Klaus said suddenly, switching back to English from their conversation in German, “Is it me or is Luther avoiding me?”

 

“Why on Earth would he be avoiding you?” Five asked, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

 

“I don’t know,” Klaus said, “Before he broke my ribs he was so angry at me, and  I really, honest to god, don’t have a clue why. Like I swear I did absolutely nothing to piss him off! And now he won’t even look at me. You know how he likes comic books right? Well, I went and got him the new Batman one as an apology but he won’t even stay in the same room as me long enough for me to give it to him. That counts as avoiding, right?”

 

Five couldn’t help but stare in disbelief for a moment, “Why are you trying to apologize to him!”

 

“I obviously made him upset somehow.”

 

“Klaus,” Five replied, trying to keep his anger towards Luther in check, “It doesn’t matter what you did, there is no excuse for him hurting you when he knows you didn’t have a chance against him. Has he even apologized for that yet?”

 

“I mean no, but-”

 

“Then why are you trying so hard to get him to forgive you? He was in the wrong. He hurt you. Don’t you ever apologize for something that isn’t your fault.”

 

Klaus looked down at his hands, seeming uncharacteristically shy from the person Five had gotten to know over the past few weeks, “I don’t like people being mad at me. Dad is already mad enough at me all the time. I don’t want my siblings to hate me too.”

 

Five frowned. Something in Klaus’ voice rubbed him wrong. Like there was something Klaus was hiding. It was an instinct that came from his years abroad working for The Commission.

 

“Klaus?” Five asked as gently as he could manage, “Why is Reginald mad at you? Why would you think he hates you any more than he hates the rest of us?”

 

Klaus opened his mouth, his eyes flickering around the room for a moment before settling back on Five. He closed his mouth and licked his lips, biting the lower one uncertainty. He looked so close to saying what Five needed to hear. And then, the boy lost all tension in his body, his shoulders hunching over.

 

“Oh, look at the time. Gotta run. Ben wanted to show me a new book he got, and he’s pretty excited about it. I’d hate to make Ben upset!” and with his usual flourish, Klaus waved goodbye and headed out of the library. 

 

Five huffed, knowing when someone was trying to avoid something when he saw it. The Klaus that he remembered was always good at that. Maybe, just maybe, Five could help Klaus before he became the man who ate bagels out of garbage cans that he knew in the future.

 

And that started, as always, with Reginald.

 

_____________________________________________

  
  


The next week consisted of Five trying to get something out of Klaus, anything at all, and was met predictably with nothing.

 

Outside of their library time together, Five made it a mission to get Luther to apologize to Klaus. In the grand scheme of things, it would be a pointless mission, but Five had grown rather attached to Klaus and Luther was still a point of contention.

 

But, as it turns out, Luther seemed to be avoiding him too. Every time he entered the same room as him, Luther would leave fast enough that if Five didn’t know any better, he would believe Luther was the one with the teleporting powers.

 

It frustrated Five to no end that he still wasn’t strong enough to teleport after him. 

 

When he wasn’t with Klaus or hunting down Luther, Five redid his equations over and over, trying and failing again and again. Fuck, he still didn’t know if his siblings actually made it back with him. Ben’s memory problem could have nothing to do with jump. It could have something to do with Allison’s powers. Or it could be something wrong with Ben. 

 

It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep everything secret with Reginald’s watchful eyes (Luther, Grace, and Pogo) and his siblings constantly asking if everything was ok. It had been so long since he was a kid that he had forgotten how to act like one. He had to be careful how he was going approach the fact he was from the future if he didn’t want Reginald to send him to an insane asylum.

 

But despite all the chaos, it was nice being back home. It was the first time in a very long time that he felt somewhat at peace. The apocalypse was years away, the Commission had no idea where he was, and he was with his family again.

 

But of course, the peace couldn’t last.

 

It was Tuesday morning when the alarms went off. It startled both Five and Klaus from their French practice. Klaus looked at Five with a wild grin and darted out of the room. Five followed more slowly, but feeling just as excited as Klaus looked. It had been too long since his last fight.

 

As per usual, Luther, Diego, and Five were the first down in the entryway. Reginald was waiting by the door, head held high. Luther looked like he wanted to bolt. When Ben and Klaus came running down the stairs moment later, Ben, as per usual when it came to missions, looked miserable.

 

They piled into the van. Reginald was still angry about no one coming forward about  _ that _ morning. His mood affected the whole vehicle. The normal excited energy that filled the van was subdued by Reginald’s constant glares through the rearview mirror.

 

“We are headed to a bank robbery,” Reginald explained, “So far we know there at least ten men with automatic weapons. The police are holding up outside the building. There are an unknown amount of hostages, and we do not have any confirmation that there any left alive. Number One will take lead when we get there.”

 

Reginald stuck to tradition and stopped the van three blocks away from the bank. He would go up to the roof of one of the closer buildings and watch their progress. The team, on the other hand, would head towards the police line. Allison would get updated information from one of the officers (either willingly or by  _ rumouring _ .) She would then report back Luther who would make an action plan. Then the mission would begin in full.

 

As Allison went off to do her part, Diego harshly elbowed Luther in his ribs, pointedly looking at Klaus.

 

With a massive sigh, Luther moved closer to Klaus, his hands twisting near his stomach, “Klaus, can we talk for a minute. Alone?”

 

Klaus nods and moved them a bit down the alley they were waiting in. Ben and Five moved over to Diego, looking for answers from their brother. 

 

Diego just raised an eyebrow at them.

 

“It’s been almost three weeks, how on Earth did you get him to talk to Klaus?” Ben asked, a small smile on his face.

 

“I-I’m just t-that good,” Diego replied with a smirk.

 

“Five bucks says Diego was just frustrated with Luther’s brooding,” Ben stage whispered to Five.

 

“He w-walked away in the m-middle of our conversations t-trying to avoid h-him!” Diego defended, “L-Luther was a-afraid of hurting K-Klaus again.”

 

That made Five perk up, “What do you mean he was afraid of hurting him again?”

 

“You know,” Ben cut in, “He did seem pretty upset about the whole thing. Didn’t even talk to Allison for a day. I think he felt pretty bad about hurting Klaus. I really don’t think it was his intention to hurt Klaus.”

 

“He purposely attacked Klaus!” Five snapped, “Chose Klaus to fight against him. If that isn’t purposeful, I don’t know what is.”

 

“Don’t be like that, Five,” Ben said, elbowing his brother playfully.

 

“Be like what?” Allison asked, coming up behind the brothers.

 

“An asshole,” Ben stated simply, still smiling

 

Diego rolled his eyes, and moved closer to Allison, “F-find out anything n-new?”

 

“Not really. The police are being a little less aggressive now that we’ve been on these missions for a while now, which is a relief. The only information they have is the stuff dad already told us. They have no idea what’s happening inside.”

 

“Great,” Diego sighed.

 

The group moved down the alley towards Klaus and Luther. Luther was looking much less stressed, and Klaus seemed a lot happier.

 

“What’s the dealo?” Klaus asked as they approached.

 

“Police didn’t know anything we don’t,” Allison replied.

 

“Ok,” Luther said, his back straightening, “Here’s what we are going to do. Diego, I want you to go with Allison. Find a side door and get in that way. Allison, I want you to make everyone forget they even saw you. Diego, find out how many men are in there, how many hostages, and anything else that may be of importance. Five, can you jump, or are you still… struggling with that?”

 

“I’ll be fine.”

 

“Good. I want you to go in with them. When they have a count jump back to us relay the information while they lay low inside. I’ll figure out the plan and send Five back to tell it to you two. Does that work for everyone?”

 

With nods from everyone, Allison, Five, and Diego headed towards the bank. It was much harder to be stealthy in broad daylight, but the three of them made it to a side door without seemingly alerting the police or the gunmen.

 

“I’ve got this,” Diego whispered, pulling a small kit from his belt.

 

Five rolled his eyes and jumped to the other side of the door. He waited a moment after he landed, expecting to be sick. Instead, all he felt was a bit of dizziness. It was a good sign.

 

Five unlocked the door, smirking slightly at Diego’s glare. The three of them made their way through the back halls of the bank, moving slowly and carefully. They managed not to cross paths with any of the robbers on their way to the main room. As soon as the could hear voices, the three came to a standstill.

 

“I’m g-going in,” Diego whispered, “I-If I’m not back in t-three minutes, s-something has g-gone wrong.”

 

Five nodded at his brother, and Number Two slipped through the last bit of hallway without a sound.

 

“So,” Allison started quietly, “Luther and Klaus finally make up?”

 

Five shushed her. He forgot how foolish they were as children when they were on missions.

 

“Come on, Five. We can barely hear them talking from here, how are they going to hear us whispering?”

 

Five rolled his eyes, “Allison, shut up.”

 

The girl stuck her tongue out at him in response.

 

Diego came back down the hallway a moment later. He sat next to Allison and sighed deeply.

 

“G-Good news and b-bad news,” Diego whispered, looking back down the hallway he came from, “The good news is I-I didn’t see any of the hostages injured. The b-bad news is there are f-fifteen men, all w-well armed, and about t-twenty hostages, all in the main room with t-them. T-there could be more hostages and m-more gunmen in the v-vault room downstairs, but there w-was only one entrance and it w-was too well guarded for me t-to get down t-there.”

 

It took Five only a moment to remember this mission. It hadn’t ended well. It had taken everyone weeks to recover from it. Diego didn’t leave his room for a week. Not even Reginald’s threats could get him to leave. Ben barely ate, Allison barely said a word, and Luther didn’t even bother picking any fights. He remembered it was after today that Diego found Klaus so high he could barely speak, white powder on his nose. The first time Klaus had done anything worse than weed.

 

It was after today that Five began to ask Reginald to try time travel.

 

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

 

This was  _ the _ moment. The moment that literally sparked everything that happened to him, and consequently, his family.

 

He had to stop this. He had too.

 

The Commission would find him if he did though. Twenty people’s lives were more than enough to get the Commission interested.

 

Either way, he would be killing his family. One way would just be seventeen years quicker.

 

“Five?” Allison’s voice brought him out of his stupor.

 

His two siblings were looking at him, worry in their eyes.

 

“You g-good?” Diego asked, his voice softer than usual.

 

“Fine,” Five said, “I’ll be back in a moment.”

 

Five jumped then, not able to face their concern when he was facing a literal life-changing decision.

 

Luther, Klaus, and Ben didn’t even jump when Five landed. He quickly relayed the information, not really paying attention to what he was saying.

 

“I’m thinking that we try and take out the outliers. Full stealth,” Luther said from outside Five’s thoughts, “Diego should be able to at least takeout half of them. Once he’s spotted, the rest of us can jump in and take them out. We keep ourselves between the hosta-”

 

“No,” Five interrupted.

 

“Excuse me?” Luther demanded.

 

“I said no,” Five was going to regret this, “We need to focus on getting the hostages out.”

 

“I’m the leader that means I make the decisions Five! You just listen to my orders!”

 

Five stepped forward, facing Luther with fury in his eyes, “You want twenty lives on your hands? That’s on you. But I am  _ telling  _ you, your plan will get every last one of the hostages killed!”

 

“What the fuck do you even know!”

 

“I  _ know _ that your plan will get everyone innocent person in that building killed!”

 

There was a moment of silence. His brothers were staring at him with wide eyes.

 

“Fuck,” Five yelled, running a hand through his hair, “Luther, I need you to trust me here. I am begging you. We need to find another way!”

 

“Ya, Five’s really freaking me out, so let's at least hear his plan, alright?” Klaus said, pushing his way in-between the two.

 

“So what’s your bright idea, Five?” Luther growled.

 

“I- um,” to be fair, Five didn’t think he’d make it this far.

 

Luther threw his hands in the air, “What the fuck! How can you complain about my plan when you don’t even have one of your own!”

 

“Wait!” Five said suddenly, “The robbers are a close-knit group. They’ve done stunts like this before. They know each other. Trust each other. Let’s use that against them.”

 

“What are you even talk-”

 

“Use Allison. Get her to  _ rumour _ one of the men to let the hostages go, two or three at a time. I’ll create a distraction to keep the others from noticing. We get as many hostages out that we can before we get caught. Klaus and Ben can focus on getting the rest of the hostages out while Luther keeps the gunmen as far back as possible. Diego, Allison, I can start taking the rest out from behind.”

 

Ben hummed thoughtfully, “I kind of like that plan.”

 

“I agree! I like the less die-y plan,” Klaus pointed out, “That’s three against one. Sorry, Luthy, I think that means we're going with Five’s plan.”

 

Luther glowered, nodding forcefully, “Fine. But if things go wrong, I’m blaming you.”

 

“Fine by me,” Five snapped back, “Head inside, I’ll explain the plan to Deigo and Allison.”

 

With that said, Five jumped back to where his siblings were sitting inside the bank. The two were crouched down in the same spot as he left them, surprisingly quiet.

 

“You were gone a long time there,” Allison whispered.

 

“I’ll explain later,” Five responded, quickly explaining the plan as the other three came down the hall, “Where’s the closest guard, Diego?”

 

“Maybe f-fifty f-feet down the hall,” Diego replied, “I’ll t-take Allison down first. Once the g-guard is gone I’ll bring t-the r-rest of you.”

 

“I’ll come with you two,” Five said, “If something goes wrong we’ll need to get the hostages out as fast as possible.”

 

Diego nodded and headed down the hall. Five and Allison followed closely behind. Near a curve in the hallway, Diego gestured for them to stop, then put a finger to his lips, using his other hand to point around the corner. Allison nodded and moved around Diego and down the last. stretch of hallway.

 

At the end of it, a lone gunman stood, his back to the hallway. Past him, at the other end of the main room, Five could make out the hostages. They weren’t more than blurry figures, but it would be easier to jump if he could at least somewhat make out where they were.

 

“ _ I heard a rumour _ ,” Allison said softly down the hall, “ _ that when it’s safe to, you let as many hostages go as you can.” _

 

The gunman stiffened, then walked away from his post towards the hostages.

 

“Where are the teller’s desks?” Five asked Diego.

 

“L-left of the hostages. I think I s-saw s-six of them.” Diego replied, “W-wait until t-the others are here b-before you do your...t-thing.”

 

Allison came back around the corner, a smirk on her face. She nodded to Diego, and he headed down the hall.

 

“So,” Allison asked, “What’s your big plan for the distraction?”

 

“What part of being quiet do you not understand?”

 

“The part about being quiet?” Allison said cheekily.

 

Five rolled his eyes, not impressed by Allison in the least.

 

As soon as all five of his siblings were in sight, Five jumped to the closest teller desk. He waited a brief moment, making sure no one had seen him, then slammed his hand over the stapler on the desk, and jumped back to the others.

 

Five watched from the hallway as the gunmen turned towards where he had been moments ago. As a group of them moved towards the teller desk, their guns raised, the guard Allison had  _ rumoured _ pulled three people up and ushered them towards the main entrance. The bright light from outside reflected off the polished floor for a brief moment before disappearing.

 

Five couldn’t help but grin. Those were three more survivors than last time. This plan might actually work.

 

Half the hostages got out before everything went to shit.

 

One of the gunmen turned around too soon and caught the guard releasing the hostages. 

 

“Now!” Five yelled, jumping to the man before he had a chance to raise his gun.

 

Five landed and neatly snapped the man’s neck, jumping to the next one before he even hit the floor. Luther was the first to make it out of the hallway, picking up one of the gunmen and throwing the man at the others, knocking down four of them.  He was yelling for the hostages to run.

 

Diego came out immediately after Luther, taking down three men at once with his knives. Klaus and Ben immediately went towards where the hostages were running, ushering them towards the entrance. Allison moved alongside Luther,  _ rumouring _ as she moved.

 

Everything was going to plan, right up until the first gunshot went off.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Five saw Klaus freeze, his entire body stiffening. For a brief moment, Five didn’t think anything of it. Six of the fifteen were down, but he could hear people coming up the stairs from where the vault was. He didn’t have time to make sure Klaus was alright. The boy was more than capable of handling himself.

 

And then it was like an explosion went off. Everything that was not nailed into the floor went flying into the air. But unlike an explosion, nothing came flying back down to the floor. Everything just floated. For a moment there was a ceasefire on both sides as they looked around in confusion. Diego tried to throw a knife, but it slowed down as it left his hand and floated like everything else.

 

Bullets, as they quickly found out, didn’t float like everything else. They didn’t even slow down. They were swimming through the air trying to avoid the gunfire that started again.

 

There were two things Five noticed as he jumped through the air, trying to keep himself and his family safe. The first was that Klaus was not in the air like the rest of them. The second was the welcome desk was flipped onto its side, yet was still firmly stuck to the ground.

 

Without hesitating, Five jumped to the far side of the desk. He landed hard. It took him a moment to reorient himself, his blood running cold as he saw what was in front of him.

 

Klaus was curled up tightly behind the desk. His knees were pressed up against his chest, his hands covering his ears, gripping his hair like a lifeline. He was muttering things Five couldn’t understand.

 

“Klaus!” Five yelled over the gunfire, grabbing the boy’s wrists.

 

As soon as Five touched his skin, Klaus’ eyes snapped open. They were white, much the same as Vanya’s were when the world ended. Unconsciously, Five tightened his grip on his brother.

 

“There’s not enough cover here!” Klaus cried out, “We need to retreat back into the forest.”

 

“Klaus!” Five yelled again, “Klaus look at me!”

 

“Dave?” Klaus sounded terrified, “I don’t know what’s happening. Where’s my briefcase? I can’t find it! I don’t know what’s happening!”

 

“I’m Number Five, your brother. We are in a bank right now. You destroyed the briefcase, remember? I know you’re far away right now, but I need you to come back to me, Klaus!”

 

“I can’t! I can’t! Not now! Not without Dave!”

 

“Klaus!” Five snarled, yanking Klaus’ hands away from his ears, “I get it! Ok! I get it! I am scared too ok! All the time. The past, present, and future get messed up in your head. You can’t tell what’s real anymore. I get it. I _ get _ it. I am so sorry I never talked you through what time travel does to your head, and I promise you I will, but I need you to be here with us right now. Come back! Come back god damn it!”

 

Klaus blinked. Once. Twice. The third time he blinked his white eyes had turned back to their normal green. A moment later, everything fell to the ground. Hard. Maybe it was just Five, but his siblings seemed to hit the ground a little softer.

 

“Five?” Klaus whispered, panic lacing his voice, “What’s happening?”

 

“It’s alright,” Five said, awkwardly patting Klaus’ shoulder.

 

When Five tried to get up to help the rest of his siblings finish the fight, Klaus grabbed his arm, panic in his eyes. On the other side of the desk, Five could see the others handling themselves fairly well. There were only eight men left. The others should be able to handle it.

 

So, Five sat down across from his brother, not bothering to remove Klaus’ iron grip on his arm. Klaus was staring past his head, his entire body shuttering every few seconds.

 

This was bad. Everything about this situation was a potential disaster. Not only had he alerted the entire Commission of his presence here, but now Klaus was also showing potential world-ending powers that Five was pretty sure Klaus wasn’t even aware of.

 

That meant stopping Vanya could be only one of possibly thousands of ways the world could end in 2019.

 

The only good news about this situation was that now Five knew that his siblings had made it back in time with him. If Klaus was remembering whatever war he was in, that meant the memories were there, they just needed to figure how to access them.

 

Diego was the first to make it to their side of the desk. He looked terrified. He had a knife in each hand, his knuckles white.

 

“W-what w-was t-t-that?” Diego stuttered, staring at the two on the ground.

 

The other three appeared moments later. All of them had the same look on their face as Diego did.

 

“What,” Luther said, his hands clenched to his side, “Is going on!”

 

Five could have said a hundred things, all better than the last. It was unfortunate that everyone was looking at him to explain what was going on, and there wasn’t enough time to explain everything he needed to say.

 

Instead of finding the right way to word the situation, Five blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

 

“Don’t tell dad.”

  
  
  



	7. Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Below all that, Five was in front of him, shaking him, trying to get him to respond. Voices were coming from beyond Klaus’ eyesight. He was in his room, but he wasn’t. He was in a hospital room with the soft sound of beeping beside him. Ben (a much older Ben) was standing in the corner of the room, shaking his head.
> 
> “I don’t know what’s happening,” Klaus slurred, not sure if he was talking to Ben or Five.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I left you with a cliff hanger last chapter, but here's another one to make you feel better!

Klaus, if he was being honest with himself, was pretty sure he had hit his head on something and knocked what screws were left in his head loose. Because, again, if he was being honest with himself, he had no idea what was going on.

Everything felt like two videos had been recorded on the same VCR tape, and the videos were playing on top of each other in his head. They were mixing and combining and nothing was clear.

In one layer, Reginald was telling them that the mission was well done. He was happy with the work they had done. The layer beneath it was fuzzy, out of focus, and seemed to echo through his head. This layer had Reginald screaming at them. He was calling them failures, incompetent, and how he would push them until they learned to save the world.

Behind angry Reginald, ghosts were screaming. All of them were bloody. All of them he recognized from the bank.

“Diego was too slow,” Klaus found himself saying, not understanding why, the words feeling thick in his mouth.

He was walking through a forest, a gun in one hand, someone else’s in the other. They were the last of a long line of men.

He was in an alleyway, curled up by a dumpster, trying to warm up. He was so cold.

Music pounded around him, rattling his bones. The cold was replaced by the heat of hundreds of bodies moving around him. Lights flashed, reflecting off of the thin sheet of sweat that coated every inch of the room.

An explosion to his right makes his ears ring, drowning out the sound of gunfire for a brief moment. Something warm, and very much alive in this valley of death, is grounding him in the chaos. If the man beside him can survive, then so can Klaus. He ignores the dead body to his left. His ghost is hovering nearby. The bullet through the ghost’s head makes it clear there was nothing Klaus, or anyone, could have done.

Below all that, Five was in front of him, shaking him, trying to get him to respond. Voices were coming from beyond Klaus’ eyesight. He was in his room, but he wasn’t. He was in a hospital room with the soft sound of beeping beside him. Ben (a much older Ben) was standing in the corner of the room, shaking his head.

“I don’t know what’s happening,” Klaus slurred, not sure if he was talking to Ben or Five.

He was in a dark room, light just beginning to shine through the curtains. He was warm and stated beneath the sheets. Someone warm was curled up behind him, an arm wrapped around his stomach. Ben was at the end of the bed. He looked down sadly at Klaus before turning around and walking through the closed door to the room.

It took a minute for Klaus to realize what that meant. He opened his mouth in a silent scream of horror as the scene in front of him changed again  
________________________________________________

Diego was pacing. In one hand he was twirling a knife between his fingers. His other hand was a fist by his side.

He couldn’t decide if he was more angry or scared.

Something was… wrong with Klaus. More wrong than usual. He had been fine before the mission; he had been happy, joking around with clear eyes, and there hadn’t been the familiar stench of smoke around him. Someone had been with him the entire time at the bank robbery. There hadn’t been time for him to do anything stupid.

So what had gone wrong?

“Diego was too slow,” Klaus muttered again, his eyes unfocused, his skin clammy.

“Why does he keep saying that!” Diego snapped, the dagger tightening in his fingers.

Five shot him a dirty look, “Do you want me to kick you out too? How many times do I have to tell you I will explain later.”

Diego sighed and went back to pacing. Luther and Allison had been kicked out almost right away. Vanya had taken Ben out to get some air. It was just the three of them now, stuffed into Klaus’ room.

All Diego had to do is wait a couple more hours. When their father went to bed, they would meet in the attic and Five would explain everything. He had sworn it in an attempt to make sure Luther wouldn’t tell their father.

Twirling the knife, Diego turned back to Five. Klaus was sitting on the edge of the bed, The Boy was kneeling on the floor in front of him, his hands gripping Klaus’ shoulders tightly. He was whispering something to Klaus, but it didn’t seem to have any effect on him.

Maybe that was a good thing, Diego decided. It was nothing more than a theory, but Diego was pretty sure Klaus had been the one that caused everything to start floating. He hadn’t seen Klaus in the air with the rest of them.

But what this meant for Klaus, Diego didn’t know. If he told dad about what he had seen, he would be beyond happy. Might even make him Number One. Yet, something was making him hesitate. It was a gut feeling that telling their father was a bad idea. He had learned that sometimes his gut feelings were smarter to follow than his brain.

A choked wheeze came from Klaus, “Ben?”

“No,” Five said, shaking Klaus slightly, “Me and Diego are with you right now. Ben is with Vanya. Do you understand me?”

Klaus’ eyes wandered around the room. He didn’t say a word.

Five sighed, “This is no use.” With surprising grace, Five got up off the floor and looked Diego head on, “Watch him. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Five jumped out of the room before Diego could respond. He couldn’t help but huff at the spot where Five had stood.

Diego looked towards Klaus, frowning slightly. He was shaking, his hands tightly wrapped in the sheets, his eyes were wider than they were seconds ago.

“Go tell dad,” Diego tried to convince himself, not taking his eyes off of Klaus, “Go tell dad and this will all be over. You won’t need to worry about him anymore.”

Diego took his eyes off his brother for a moment, looking at the closed door angrily. When the door refused to budge, Diego sighed and went to help Klaus, slamming his knife into Klaus’ desk on the way by.

“Come on you lump,” Diego muttered, trying to manoeuvre Klaus to the headboard.

Klaus, surprisingly, didn’t resist Diego. He simply let himself be pulled around like a rag doll. It freaked Diego out more than anything else that had happened that day. Klaus didn’t do anything without complaint, especially when it came to Diego.

As soon as Klaus was leaning up against the headboard, wrapped up in his blankets, Five popped into the room. He had a cup and straw in his hands.

With more force than necessary, Five shoved the straw into Klaus’ mouth, “Drink.”

When Klaus ignored Five’s demand, he repeated it several more times. More and more anger leaked into Five’s voice with each repeat.

Klaus eventually listened. After his first sip, he proceeded to suck the rest down like a dying man. Klaus never looked at Five the whole time.

“That was a little harsh, don’t you think?” Diego asked, yanking his knife out of the desk, twiddling it again.

Five snorted, “It was the only way to get him out for a bit.”

It took a moment for Diego to understand what his brother was saying, “Wait a second, you drugged him?”

“Don’t be so prude,” Five rolled his eyes, “I can’t look after him and do what I need to do at the same time. He can’t hurt himself or do anything stupid this way.”

“Are you kidding me? You could kill him doing that! You could have guessed wrong on how much he needed to knock him out!”

“I’ve done this before, Diego. I know how much it takes to kill a man. There was barely enough sleeping pills in there to keep him out for the next few hours.”

“What are you talking about!” Diego demanded.

He didn’t get an answer. Instead, there was only air where Five was standing.

With a snarl, Diego turned back toward Klaus. The teen was hunched forward, his eyes blinking rapidly.

Taking a deep breath, Diego helped Klaus lay down in his bed. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

Tell dad, he can fix this one part of his brain screamed as he looked down at his pale brother. Another part of his brain was screaming louder. A part that he didn’t recognize. 

Telling dad will make things worse. You’ll end up killing him. You’ll be the death of Klaus.

______________________________________________________

 

Ben was sitting quietly at the table in the library. He hadn’t turned a page in his book since they had sat down. Vanya was worried about him. Ben had been worrying at his bottom lip so much that it was bleeding. He didn’t even seem to notice.

“Ben?” Vanya asked quietly, “Are you alright?”

“Hmm?”

Vanya gently pulled Ben’s book down onto the table, “What happened today?”

“I don’t even really know,” Ben replied after a moment, “Everything was going so well. Then we were floating and falling and Klaus was… somewhere else.”

“Floating?”

 

“I know it sounds crazy, but we were just floating. Everyone. The Umbrella Academy and the robbers, and everything that wasn’t nailed down to the ground. It was terrifying.”

Vanya’s eyes widened, “Why didn’t anyone tell dad?”

“Five said he could explain everything, and begged us not to tell dad. Everything was happening so fast that I doubt Luther could even make sense of it enough to try and tell him.”

“That’s what the meeting is about? Five wouldn’t tell me anything when he demanded I joined the family meeting tonight.” Vanya paused, putting a hand on one of Ben’s, “Are you alright?”

“I guess? It just really scared me how Klaus was looking at me. Like he wouldn’t look at anyone else but me. But it was weird. I’ve never seen him look at me like that before.”

“What do you mean?”

Ben bit his lip again, trying to find the right words, “It looked as if he’d seen a ghost.”

__________________________________________________________

When the clock hit ten, Luther practically launched out of bed. He had been vibrating with energy all day. He wanted- no needed to know what had happened at the bank. If Five didn’t explain, he wouldn’t hesitate to wake up his dad and let him know absolutely everything that happened. He didn’t care who he had to throw under the bus.

He made his way up the stairs quickly, his feet falling hard on every step. He didn’t care how loud he was being. He was tired, frustrated, and wanted to know everything.

Someone let out a quiet cough from behind him. Luther whipped around a snarl on his face.

Ben was standing at the bottom of the staircase, an eyebrow raised, “If you stomp around any louder, you’ll wake the entire house up,” he said quietly.

Luther rolled his eyes and continued up the stairs. He and Ben were the first in the attic. Ben instantly sat down on the floor while Luther stood by the window, glaring into the street below.

“Why don’t you sit down?” Ben asked.

“No.”

“Are you angry at me.”

Luther let out a huff, “Why would I be mad at you?”

“Because you won’t sit down with me?”

With a sigh, Luther sat down across from Ben. In terms of siblings, he liked Ben the best. To be fair, everyone liked Ben the best. If Ben was angry, no one would be happy.

“So,” Ben started, “Why are you upset?”

“I’m not.” Luther said simply, but continued when Ben gave him a look, “I hate not knowing what’s happening. I’m the leader. I should be the only one who knows things.”

Ben raised an eyebrow, “Whatever happened to being a team?”

Luther opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by his sisters coming up the stairs. He couldn’t help but scowl at Vanya as she walked into the room. She was not a part of their team. She had no reason to be there.

Allison sat down on the other side of Luther, smiling at him. Allison sat on the other side of the room, looking at the rest of them with wide eyes.

Five popped into the room moments later, looking around at everyone who had gathered so far.

“Diego and Klaus will be here right away. Then we will begin.” Five stated.

Allison was sending eye-rolls towards Luther, just as unimpressed about the situation as he was. Vanya was sitting further back than everyone, which was good. Five was pacing, his arms behind his back. Vanya followed Five’s every move with her eyes.

Luther let out another huff, “Why won’t you just start without them? It’s their fault for being late.”

“No, it’s not!” Five snapped, glaring at Luther.

“Whose is it then!”

“Mine!” Five practically snarled.

Vanya spoke up quietly from the corner, a tremor in her voice, “What do you mean.”

“As I said,” Five growled, “I will explain when everyone is here.”

Five continued pacing. Allison send Luther another look, this one filled with confusion. Vanya curled up tighter in her corner.

The only thing that broke the heavy silence in the room was the sound of the last of their siblings coming up the stairs. One set of footsteps was eerily quiet, the other was heavy, like they were stomping down on each step.

Luther frowned as Klaus and Diego finally entered the room. Diego was leading Klaus by the wrist. Klaus looked off. He was pale, shaking, and his eyes were wandering around the room.

Luther recognized the symptoms. Klaus was high.

“Are you kidding me?” Luther shot to his feet, “You came here high, Klaus! Really.”

Diego dropped Klaus’ wrist, moving till he was right in front of Luther, “Fuck off. He’s not high, he’s sick.”

“I don’t believe that for a secon-”

Five pushed between the two, “Sit down. Both of you. You are acting like children.”

For a brief moment, Diego continued to stare down Luther. It wasn’t until Five pushed them both away from each other that they broke their stare. Luther settled next to Ben again. Diego gently pulled Klaus to the floor beside him.

“So,” Ben said, breaking the tension in the room, “Wanna tell us what’s going on, Five?”

Five sighed, “I am going to be quick, and honest here so we can move onto more important things. Like how we are going to fix the problem here. We are from the future. The world was ending and I attempted to take us back in time a few days, but I miscalculated something. We were thrown back years in time, and into our childhood bodies. Klaus, I believe, was triggered by something and is currently remembering the past timelines, and the future timeline. By my understanding, it is hard on the human mind to comprehend something as confusing as time travel, which is why he is so ill. Does that explain everything you need to know?”

For a moment, silence filled the room. Confusion lined everyone's face. Then, all at once, the room exploded with questions.


End file.
